The 20 Best Designer Fits of the Season

Gallery20 Slides

Karl Lagerfeld didn’t pioneer the designer uniform, but his penchant for high-collar white dress shirts, black suit jackets, exaggerated ties, and dark sunglasses—not to mention his powdered-white low ponytail—was legendary. His fastidious personal style turned him into a larger-than-life figure; as fashion and mass culture began to crash together in the late-20th-century, the popular idea of “high fashion designer” was constructed in Lagerfeld’s image.
Fashion designers inherently understand the power of clothing—especially their own—to send a message. (Lagerfeld certainly did: “I am like a caricature of myself, and I like that. It is like a mask,” he wrote in his 2013 book The World According to Karl.) Which is why one of the most interesting (and anticipated) moments at any fashion show happens once the final model in the finale train has disappeared backstage. When the designer slips out to do a bow and wave—or, if they’re bold, to walk the runway—we get a glimpse of what someone with practically unlimited sartorial resources chooses to wear.
That said, on the day of their show, many designers wear whatever’s most practical. A T-shirt and sneakers is much better suited to the manic prep leading up to a fashion show than a runway-caliber fit. Jonathan Anderson, for one, prefers tight blue jeans, hiking shoes, and quarter-zip sweaters. Extra points go to those who debut a piece from the collection they’ve just shown: Raf Simons, Gucci’s Alessandro Michele, and, of course, Rick Owens, are known for wearing their own clothes. Better yet are the designers who just want to show off their drip like the rest of us, like Marc Jacobs, who closed his latest New York Fashion Week show in a pair of enormous pants and triple-white Balenciaga Triple-Ss.
With the Fall-Winter 2019 season just about wrapped, check out what the most influential designers in the world wore for their most recent moment in the spotlight.

Since 1957, GQ has inspired men to look sharper and live smarter with its unparalleled coverage of style, culture, and beyond. From award-winning writing and photography to binge-ready videos to electric live events, GQ meets millions of modern men where they live, creating the moments that create conversations.